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Messages for Manufacturing Personnel
Aging Process Facilities and Infrastructure May 2018

Aging process equipment, facilities, and infrastructure are a 1

safety concern in the process industries. In 2010 there was a violent
explosion at an oil refinery in the state of Washington, USA (1). A
heat exchanger shell failed catastrophically, and there were seven
fatalities. The exchanger had been in service for almost 38 years and
cracks had developed in the carbon steel shell after continuous
exposure to hydrogen at high temperature and pressure. The failure
mechanism (high temperature hydrogen attack) was not well
understood when the refinery was built, and the cracks had not been
detected when the shell was last inspected twelve years earlier.
In another incident, the roof of an ore processing plant collapsed onto the gallery below causing significant
damage to process equipment. Fortunately, there were no injuries. Beams on the underside of the roof had been
exposed to steam releases from equipment below for nearly twenty years. Snow and rain on the roof caused the
steam to condense and corrode the beams. The roof finally collapsed one winter under a heavy snow load. No one
in the plant had been assigned responsibility for maintaining the building. Operators did not routinely look beyond
the process equipment. This incident shows the importance of maintaining all facilities and infrastructure, even if
the equipment does not directly contact process chemicals.
2 3 4
Examples of aging
equipment:
2. Silos
3. Separation
equipment
4. A riveted tank car

Did You Know? What Can You Do?

 Aging affects the condition and integrity of all
process equipment, facilities, and infrastructure.
 Prolonged exposure to normal operating conditions,
and occasional upsets, can cause equipment to
deteriorate, making it more prone to failure.
 Many plants are now operating at rates and
conditions not anticipated at the time of their initial
construction.
 Aging does not necessarily relate to how old a
facility or piece of equipment might be. It is really
about how well it has been operated and
maintained. Aging is about change and this requires
constant awareness and vigilance by workers in an
industrial facility.
 Ensure that all facilities and equipment are operated
within specified safe operating limits.
 Report any deviations from safe operating limits to
management so that technical experts can evaluate the
potential impact of the deviation on the equipment.
 Look for any unusual conditions or signs of equipment
deterioration in your daily plant or facility inspections.
 Look beyond your immediate area of responsibility as
you travel about the plant. For example, inspect
loading racks, and railway sidings, pipe bridge
supports, building structural steel, and other
infrastructure which can be missed in formal
inspections.
 Report any concerns to your supervisor or foreman.

Aging equipment requires extra care!

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